BLACK HAWK — The warnings came the day before the storm started. There was no definitive “The power will be shut off.” It was more of a warning that it “could” happen. Emails were received, and social media had posts by both Xcel and United Power.
The gentle breeze turned into a gale. Gusts were later recorded at 111 mph (Ryan Cummings, Highway 119 and S. Beaver Creek Road, Gilpin County), and 106 mph (Ginger Stancliff Baer, Rollinsville), and 67 mph (Rik Henrikson, Shoshoni Road, Gilpin County). The giant pine trees looked like the bendy straws my mom used to buy at the grocery store.
When she blew over, there wasn’t a thud or a thwack. There really wasn’t a sound as the adjacent trees caught her and held her through the rest of the storm, her bare roots pulled out of the ground, stuck up in the air with a sense of finality regarding her fate.
When it was over, when power was restored, and when the gusts calmed enough to take a closer look, I walked down to observe the damage. I popped a post on Facebook: nothing urgent. Many friends and neighbors across the region had much larger issues to deal with after the latest storm.
Within minutes, I received responses from several people recommending their favorite tree companies or offering to help take mine down. But one response said, “I’m on my way.” And just like that, my neighbor walked over from across the meadow and proceeded to safely take the tree to the ground, cut it into usable size pieces, and split them with an axe.
How on earth did I get so lucky? My sincere thanks to Justice Adler and our friend Christopher Sarnecki, who came to help. And my neighbor Matthew who offered the use of his skidsteer, although it wasn't needed this time.
It's almost time for April Fools'
Each year, our staff contributes stories for our annual April Fools' edition. This year, that edition falls on April 2. It also happens to be a five-week month. Each month with five Thursdays, we publish "It's Your Turn" content. I can't think of a better way to share your favorite hilarious local stories.
We also publish poetry, photos, artwork, short stories, business promotions, family folklore, historical essays, and other anecdotes. As an extra bonus, April is also National Poetry Month, so we will publish poetry all month long. Submit "It's Your Turn" here: mountainear-themtnear.creativecircleforms.com/its-your-turn
Better News Media Contest
Today I spent hours combing through newspapers from 2025. I’ve spent a lot of time looking back at each edition to find what I consider the “best of the best” of our news from last year.
It takes a couple of months to select what we want to enter into the various news contests we participate in. This year is exceptionally exciting, but also a little harder to gather the stories—we have so many incredible journalists, interns, designers, photographers, columnists, artists, podcasters, and more on staff.
It is hard to pick just a few for each category. But alas, we are almost done. Everything will be completed for the latest contest by this coming weekend. Then I will begin the process for the next one.
Everybody’s Reading It Survey
Another thing I’ve been focusing on is interpreting the answers that have come in with our latest survey. We run these surveys several times each year, gathering information about what you like or dislike about our publications. This is a great opportunity to share what you want more of, less of, and your personal opinion about what we can do differently.
While we are not done gathering information in the survey, one thing brought up by several people is that they’d like to see more letters that represent local political parties. This may seem like an easy fix, but it really isn’t.
Letters are submitted by our readers in the greater Peak to Peak communities. We don’t solicit letters, we simply print them. We welcome thoughtful, local letters to the editor. Letters may be edited for length (less than 500 words) and content (rude, vulgar or obscene). Letters must include a local name and address to be considered for publication in the next available edition. We reserve the right to refuse to print letters.
If you have opinions you'd like to share in a letter, simply submit it here: mountainear-themtnear.creativecircleforms.com/letters
News with Altitude
As always, The Mountain-Ear is your community source for news, covering the news of the Peak to Peak region since 1977. You can reach us by email at frontdesk@themountainear.com or by phone 303-810-5409. You can also submit news tips, events, press releases, announcements, and more. Just check out our website at themtnear.com and click the "Send Your News" tab.
Thanks for reading, listening, watching and being the reason we keep these publications alive.
